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Cairns bands set for Rockin' weekend in West Papua plight

Source
Cairns Post - October 6, 2017

Danaella Wivell – The plight of West Papua to gain independence from Indonesia is spreading to Cairns.

The Indonesian province, about 250km north of Australia, was handed from the Dutch to the Indonesians in 1969. About 500,000 West Papuans have died at the hands of soldiers since then.

The West Papuan community will feel the Far Northern support at the weekend's two Rockin' For West Papua concerts to raise funds for United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

The organisation wants to give the people of West Papua a referendum to vote for freedom from Indonesia.

Papua New Guinea-born Cairns musician Samantha Clark, who performs under the name Kaweyova, says it's time West Papua has more support from its neighbours.

"This is very close to my heart because they're pretty much my people and to see them fighting so hard for freedom is hard," she says.

"We gained our independence in 1975 and to see the people on the other side, so close by, our neighbours fighting for freedom and not getting it... it breaks my heart.

"It's something I really want to see change. It's been ongoing for many years now but only recently people have started coming out and talking about it, so hopefully change will be made."

Rockin' for West Papua organiser Cameron Cusack says the aim of the concerts is to educate and raise much needed funds for the fight to free the province.

"Cairns has a big PNG community so it's really good to bring the event to Cairns," he says. "We're raising awareness to stop the atrocities there and make a change."

Organiser Nigel Perera says the line-up was selected to reflect the intention of the concert. "All of our talent is from Papua New Guinea, so it hits pretty close to home," he says.

"We have been communicating with the Papua New Guinean community and they are so happy to see the people of Cairns getting up behind West Papua and supporting a cause close to their hearts."

Rockin' for West Papua has two shows in Cairns. Tomorrow's 18+ show will be held at Empire HQ Club in Cairns with a $15 entry fee. Saturday's free all-ages show at Fogarty Park kicks off at 2pm.

Source: http://www.cairnspost.com.au/entertainment/cairns-bands-set-for-rockin-weekend-in-west-papua-plight/news-story/66403db8b9384cb253459ee70e860b13

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